Mars
Mars is the fourth planet of the Solar System and the most populated planet. Mars is sometimes nicknamed as the "Red Planet" because of its reddish appearance, due to iron oxide prevalent on its surface. History Once the home of the Martian race, it was desolated a thousand years ago by the Imperium. Earth astronauts J. Allen Carter and Ed Reiss became the first men to set foot on Mars. ''Generation One'' Cartoon continuity ''Generation One'' animated series The Earth Defense Command has a base operating on Mars. ''The Headmasters'' anime Having harnessed the plasma energy released when the Transformers' homeworld of Cybertron was destroyed, Decepticon Headmaster leader Scorponok sought to generate and collect more of the energy to fuel his ambitions. To accomplish this, Scorponok plotted the destruction of Mars, and ordered the Terrorcons to plant plasma energy bombs beneath the surface of the planet Mars at strategic points which would, when detonated, rip the planet apart. The Decepticons' activities were discovered by Spike, Daniel, Wheelie and the Trainbots, who were on Mars conducting a geological survey at the time. The Autobot Headmasters were called in to deal with the threat, but during the battle that ensued, Fortress Maximus was de-powered by a plasma energy blast. Scorponok took the opportunity to activate his newly constructed Transtector and travel to Mars where he pummeled Maximus before ordering the planet's destruction. Two clusters of bombs placed at the Martian planetary poles were detonated simultaneously by Soundblaster, beginning a chain reaction that started to tear Mars apart. Scorponok and the Decepticons evacuated while the Autobots were consumed by the inferno, but Fortress Maximus was able to absorb some of the energy released in the early stages of the conflagration and made his escape as Mars exploded. Incredibly, the destruction of Mars had a minimal impact on the various planetary orbits throughout the Sol system, and the fate of its moon was not divulged, but its absence did disrupt the gravimetric balance of space bridge travel, destabilizing it. Note: An extra line is added into the RTM 1 dub version of "The Final Showdown on Earth (Part 2)" that has Fortress state that the Autobots plan to "rebuild Mars" somehow. While it is, of course, hard to credit ''any changes from the RTM 1 dub as being deliberate, this particular change happens to patch a continuity error from Victory very well, as noted below.'' ''Victory'' anime Ore acquired from Mars, coupled with ores from Earth and other planets, was used in the creation of Schaeffer Energy. Jean Minakaze happened to be visiting the Schaeffer Energy plant in America as a cargo ship carrying a payload of Martian ore returned from its space mission. Note: When the origins of Schaeffer Energy are related, it is implied that Mars still exists. Although apparently just a plain ol' continuity error, it ''does line up with Fortress's RTM 1 dub promise (above) surprisingly well, making one wonder if it could have actually been done deliberately. Setting this oddity aside, though, it might be theorised that the ore was obtained from the remains of Mars floating in space.'' ''Unicron Trilogy'' Cartoon continuity ''Armada'' Jetfire and Starscream once travelled to Mars in seach of the Mini-Con panel containing Firebot. Upon hearing this, the kids asked the two Transformers to buy them something from the souvenir shop. Sadly, as Mars was uninhabited by either human or alien lifeforms, there were no shops to be found. Starscream did however find a mysterious glowing green rock and gave it to the children. They were so happy. Joke's on them - its probably radioactive. ''Energon'' Ten years after the defeat of Unicron, the Cybertronian Alliance and the Earth Federation installed a facility on the surface of Mars to mine the potent naturally-occuring ore Energon. Unfortunately, this facility was decimated by the initial Terrorcon attack, leading Carlos to aptly remark "Holy frijoles". Also Tidal Wave was stationed on Mars, by the autobots during the Cybertronian Alliance, to guard the Mini-Cons who were sent there. A little while later, the survivors of the first attack, Autobot, Decepticon and Mini-Con, made a valiant last stand against a second Terrorcon attack, this time being personally led by Scorponok. ''Cybertron'' Thunderblast, Ransack, Crumplezone and Thundercracker left Earth on a rickety rocket, attempting to forge the New Decepticon Army. Their rocket made it as far as Mars before crashing and stranding them on the planet. ''Sailor Moon'' Mars (火星; Star of Fire) is the fourth planet from the Sun in this Solar System. It has two moons, Phobos and Deimos. In the [http://sailormoon.wikia.com/wiki/Sailor_Moon_(series) Sailor Moon series], Mars was protected by Sailor Mars, even though in the present she resided on Earth with the other Sailor Senshi of the system. Her guardian crows, Phobos and Deimos, were named for Mars' moons, but came from the planet Coronis. In the manga, Phobos Deimos Castle orbited Mars, and was the palace of Princess Mars. Disney appearances Phineas and Ferb Using Baljeet's teleporting machine, Phineas and Ferb accidentally transport Candace to Mars. Where she becomes the queen of mars and then she leaves mars because of the aliens not giving her time for herself. Mars Needs Moms Martians come to Earth and steal Milo's mother to raise their alien babies. John Carter (film) John Carter is transported from the Civil War era to Mars, where he becomes a warrior. ''The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars Mars was the Toaster and the gang's destination and where an another Money Bin stands in ''The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars. ''Miles from Tomorrowland Mars is the primary setting of the ''Miles from Tomorrowland episodes "Miles vs. The Volcano" and "Scavengers of Mars" and many of its well known sightings are seen in both the episodes, such as the Olympus Mons, the largest volcano in the Solar System, and Valles Marineris, the biggest canyon on Mars. In "Scavenger of Mars" the Cosmic Explorers discover a long forgot underground Mars Colony which was once populated by the first Mars Colonists and harvested bamboo trees which were perfect for building purposes. ''Exosquad'' Mars was the industrial center of the Homeworlds, its population consisting almost entirely of Neosapiens. The capital was Maginus City. Initially, mining Mars was seen as too expensive as the environment was too harsh for Terrans and their equipment. This led to the use of convict labor on Tethys. Following the creation of the Neosapiens, mining Mars became profitable and the planet became the center of industrial activity. The Neosapiens, seen as slaves, eventually instigated the Neosapien Revolt and fought for improved civil rights. The revolt was crushed by Exofleet, which had begun to use the E-frames as combat weapons. The treaty signed after the revolt increased the overall rights of the Neosapiens, but they were subjected to restrictions. They could not own weapons or command ships. Despite the treaty, many Neosapiens lived in virtual poverty and very few were able to obtain positions of power. However, the Mars government was granted moderate autonomy and the Homeworlds Congress did not subject it to strong oversight. This lack of oversight allowed Phaeton, the governor-general, to convert many of the factories so they could build weapons while maintaining the facade of being non-military buildings. His carte blanche was so widespread the Congress did not even suspect the military build-up. When Exofleet was sent to fight the Pirate Clans War, Phaeton's armada quickly overwhelmed the remaining Exofleet forces. After Phaeton's capital has been transferred from Mars to Phaeton City (formerly, Chicago) on Earth, General Typhonus, Phaeton's Minister of Battle Forces, was left in charge of maintaining Martian industrial capacity. In "Abandoned" it is stated that Mars has a population of at least 5 million Neosapiens. A massive breeding facility was built beneath Olympus Mons for the purpose of creating millions of new Neosapiens and rendering Terrans obsolete. This facility was destroyed by the Able Squad soon after the Third Battle of Earth. The resulting destruction of the facility caused Olympus Mons to erupt and devastate the surrounding area, including Maginus City. In exchange for the assistance of the Pirate Clans, Admiral Winfield agreed to allow the pirates to settle on Mars. During a mission to contact a spy, Able Squad discovered an extraterrestrial installation (a facility or a giant living creature, which baffled Professor Algernon) buried beneath one of Martian deserts. During the Battle of Mars, Able Squad and the Neosapiens managed to infiltrate the facility, but suffered losses from the defense weaponry. The installation eventually self-destructed from combat damage, reducing Mars to another asteroid belt and sending a signal into deep space, which apparently attracted the attention of a new, aggressive alien race (whose nature was not explained in the series, since Exosquad Third Season and Exo-Pirates were canceled until the series was revived). The destruction of Mars was a heavy blow to the morale of the Neosapiens, but it also stirred a great lust for revenge in them. This need for vengeance was exploited by Phaeton during the Fourth Battle of Venus. The Pirates did not break-off the alliance with the Exofleet, even though its side of the deal was no longer possible to fulfill, and fought along its side to the end. Phaeton would later believe that the destruction of Mars was a deliberate act by Exofleet, leading him to formulate a plan to destroy Earth as well in revenge. After the war, Professor Algernon modified his GRAF Shield to reconstruct the planet, and with extensive terraforming, Mars was restored to its original geology. The Drej targeted Mars once the destruction of the Titan. Physical characteristics Mars has approximately half the radius of Earth. It is less dense than Earth, having about 15% of Earth's volume and 11% of the mass. Its surface area is only slightly less than the total area of Earth's dry land. While Mars is larger and more massive than Mercury, Mercury has a higher density. This results in a slightly stronger gravitational force at Mercury's surface. Mars is also roughly intermediate in size, mass, and surface gravity between Earth and Earth's Moon. Atmosphere Mars lost its magnetosphere 4 billion years ago, so the solar wind interacts directly with the Martian ionosphere, keeping the atmosphere thinner than it would otherwise be by stripping away atoms from the outer layer. The atmosphere on Mars consists of 95% carbon dioxide, 3% nitrogen, 1.6% argon, and contains traces of oxygen and water. The atmosphere is quite dusty, containing particulates about 1.5 µm in diameter which give the Martian sky a tawny color when seen from the surface. During a pole's winter, it lies in continuous darkness, chilling the surface and causing 25–30% of the atmosphere to condense out into thick slabs of CO ice (dry ice). When the poles are again exposed to sunlight, the frozen CO sublimes, creating enormous winds that sweep off the poles as fast as 400 km/h. These seasonal actions transport large amounts of dust and water vapor, giving rise to Earth-like frost and large cirrus clouds. Both polar caps shrink and regrow following the temperature fluctuation of the Martian seasons. Climate Mars's seasons are the most Earth-like, due to the similar tilts of the two planets' rotational axes. However, the lengths of the Martian seasons are about twice those of Earth's, as Mars' greater distance from the Sun leads to the Martian year being about two Earth years in length. Martian surface temperatures vary from lows of about −140 °C (−220 °F) during the polar winters to highs of up to 20 °C (68 °F) in summers.The wide range in temperatures is due to the thin atmosphere which cannot store much solar heat, the low atmospheric pressure, and the low thermal inertia of Martian soil. Moons Mars has two tiny natural moons, Phobos and Deimos, which orbit very close to the planet and are thought to be captured asteroids. From the surface of Mars, the motions of Phobos and Deimos appear very different from that of the Earth's moon Luna. Phobos rises in the west, sets in the east, and rises again in just 11 hours. Deimos, being only just outside synchronous orbit—where the orbital period would match the planet's period of rotation — rises as expected in the east but very slowly. Despite the 30 hour orbit of Deimos, it takes 2.7 days to set in the west as it slowly falls behind the rotation of Mars, then just as long again to rise. Life on Mars Since Mars cannot sustain a life-sustaining atmosphere, terraforming the entire planet would achieve no results as the artificial atmosphere would be blasted off its surface by the solar wind of the sun as Mars does not have a magnetosphere which shields the planet from the sun's radiation. However life is sustained through the use of large craters, in which, an artificial atmosphere has been created to cover the crater and is constantly replenished so that the atmosphere does not thin out. In this way, a colony can be established with atmospheric and climatic features similar to those of Earth. Mythology In Roman mythology, Mars, also known as Ares in the Greek pantheon, was the god of war. He was the son of Juno and Jupiter. Astrology In Western astrology, Mars is traditionally associated with willpower, aggressiveness, strength, and conflicts. A person with Mars dominating in their natal chart is supposed to be headstrong, combative, and quick to pick fights, similar to Sailor Mars. The qualitative opposite of Mars is Venus. Mars is associated with Tuesday. Dante Alighieri associated Mars with the liberal art of arithmetic. In Chinese astrology, Mars is ruled by the element fire. In Indian astrology, Mars represents energy, confidence, and ego. Trivia *Mars was named after the Roman God of war, whose Greek form was called Ares. *Mars is the second smallest planet, the smallest being Mercury. *Mars is often called "the Red Planet" because of it's coloring, which comes from ferrous oxide (rust). *It is called the mightiest of planets. *It has two moons, Deimos and Phobos *Its the 2nd smallest planet in our solar system *Olympus Mons, a mountain/volcano found on Mars, is the biggest mountain/volcano in the solar system *In day, Mars' sky is red with yellow clouds. At night, the stars are seen in the dark red sky. * In the Japanese calendar, Tuesday is called "kayoubi" (火曜日), meaning "the day of fire." * The month of March is named for Mars. Category:Solar System Category:Planets